Demo Thoughts: DmC

I’ll admit, I’ve never played any of the Devil May Cry games before, mostly because they were never on the consoles I owned (barring Devil May Cry 4) but that doesn’t mean that gaming’s white-haired demon hunter has escaped my notice.  And with my recent rental of the Devil May Cry HD Collection, I figured now was the perfect time to check out the demo for the upcoming entry in the series, DmC: Devil May Cry.

Despite seeming like a prequel to the rest of the games, based on my readings DmC is actually a reboot of the franchise set in a parallel or alternate universe to the main series.  You still play as Dante, a Nephilim, or half demon/half angel (isn’t he half demon/half human in the main series?).  The world Dante inhabits is one of deception.  It seems normal, but it’s actually under the control of demons who manipulate humans without them knowing.  Being more than human, Dante finds himself at odds with these demons & frequently dragged into Limbo, a parallel dimensions where demons roam freely.  Along the way, he’s recruited by the Order, a “terrorist” group headed by an Anonymous wannabe who turns out to be Dante’s half-brother Virgil.

The demo has two levels.  The first is a tutorial level, presumably one of the earliest ones in the game.  In it, you learn the basic controls as you fight your way through a small section of Limbo.  The second level is a boss fight with some disgusting cockroach-maggot thing.  Both levels also include a bonus challenge, self-contained timed rooms with specific objectives.  The first is a race along platforms while the second requires you to defeat five enemies that can only be damaged while in the air in one minute.

Thoughts on the demo: Given the series’ reputation for being unforgiving, I played through on the easiest difficulty (Human).  Dante starts the game with several weapons at his disposal.  Normal controls allow him to shoot his guns, light & heavy attack with his sword & jump.  He also has a dodge move.  However, Dante also has an Angel & Devil Mode which is used by holding down the left or right triggers respectively (on the 360).  Angel Mode uses a scythe which seems to have the fastest attack speed while Devil Mode uses an axe, which is slower but does more damage.  The controls in these modes are the same with the exception of shooting.  Pressing the fire button in Angel Mode pulls Dante towards platforms or enemies while in Devil Mode it pulls things towards Dante.  There’s also a Devil Trigger gauge that you can build up for even more power.  There also appears to a shop to unlock moves, abilities & maybe weapons, but you can’t access them in the demo.

The Good & Bad:

     + Combat is fast & fun

     + Interesting story

     + Nice level design in Limbo

     + Unique enemy design

     + Good boss fight

     – Tricky platforming

     – No block?

 

For being the first time I ever played one of the games, I really enjoyed the combat.  It feels very fast & flashy.  And while at first it’s easy to look at it as a button-masher, it’s a fairly easy system to learn & start racking up combos.  For my first time, I earned an S ranking in style in the first stage & an A ranking in the boss level.  Juggling enemies is always fun, & the weapons you have access to are different enough to feel useful for different situations.  I especially like that the control scheme doesn’t change when you use Angel or Devil Mode.  Also, from what I’ve seen so far, the story seems pretty interesting.  I like the idea of demons secretly controlling the world.  It comes across with a Big Brother/1984 vibe that I like.  The whole thing has a cyber-punk feel.  Even the enemies look very robotic.  A few even carried chainsaws.  Finally, the boss fight was well-done.  As you would expect, he had several stages, between which his attacks varied.  The fight made use of all on my abilities & had a specific strategy that took me a few minutes to figure out.

On the downside, the platforming can be a bit tricky.  Dante is fairly agile, but there was one bonus section I couldn’t reach no matter what I did.  The platforming seems to require a lot of timing & precision.  This isn’t a bad thing if you like challenge, but hopefully there are upgrades to help during the full game.  I’m also no sure if you can replay or go back to stages if you miss something.  I also don’t recall there being a block function.  Hopefully this is an unlockable ability, because dodge doesn’t really helpful when you’re surrounded.

Overall, I think DmC will be an interesting game when it comes out.  I think a lot of people are giving the reboot a hard time just because it seems so different from the original series.  However, all of the elements that make the Devil May Cry series what it is seem to be present.  Fun & acrobatic combat, challenge & same-old Dante attitude (although in this version he seems less cocky & more like a rebellious teen).  I hope fans of the series will at least give it a chance when it comes out in January.

-GamerDame

Demo Thoughts: Dragon’s Dogma

I love fantasy.  And by that, I mean the traditional fantasy settings.  Medieval times, fantastic creatures, knights & all that good stuff.  So anytime an RPG with this fantasy setting coming out, I pay attention.  The demo for Dragon’s Dogma was released this week.  The upcoming RPG has gotten a lot of attention it’s new “pawn” system.  And even though I’m still having fun with Skyrim & Amalur, I’m hoping this game turns out good enough to buy.

Not a whole lot about the plot has been revealed.  All I know is that you play as the hero of the story, who at the beginning of the game has their heart stolen by a dragon.  Instead of dying, they become an “Arisen” (though the specifics about what that means is still unknown) & embark on a quest to find & slay the dragon… & presumably get their heart back.  Several gameplay aspects have been revealed, one of which is the Pawn system I mentioned.  Pawns are NPC’s who will join your party & fight beside you.  I believe you can have up to three in your party at a time.  An interesting feature of the Pawns is that players will be able to borrow other players’ Pawns.  Lending your characters out will also benefit you, because they will develop new skills on their own.  The second much-touted feature of the game is supposed to be large boss battles that require you to climb onto the creature a la Shadow of the Colossus.

The demo contains three sections.  The first is during the prologue quest where you’re chasing down the dragon.  It leads through a ruin & ends with a battle with a chimera.  The second section is the character creator.  Here you can customize your hero as well as their main Pawn (I believe this pawn is a non-exchangeable constant companion).  According to the demo, you’ll be able to upload these characters to the full game.  The third section is a battle with a griffon.

Thoughts on the demo: The demo restricts you to what is likely the Fighter & Ranger classes during the two gameplay sections.  It also gives you a fighter, ranged & mage Pawn.  The prologue gives a brief tutorial showing some unique mechanics of the game.  The ability to grab is used not only for clinging to bosses, but for picking up items such as crates, which can be thrown.  I’m not sure if that can be used in combat.  Another feature that Resident Evil fans will recognize is the ability to use & combine herbs to heal yourself.  They even look the same — although the names are a little fancier than Small Green Herb.  The griffon section lets you use your created characters.  Combat consists of light attacks, heavy attacks, block & a primary attack button that seems to be for ranged & probably magic attacks.

The Good & Bad:

      + Character customization is insanely detailed

      + Able to customize main Pawn

      + Good use of mythological creatures

      + Pawns able to hold their own in combat

      + Pawns give tips during combat

      + Climbing on creatures is fun

      – Combat can be hectic & hard to see

      – Default controller layout feels awkward

      – Health bar hard to see

      – Limit to how much health can be recovered

      – Running is awkward

 

I was really impressed with how well the Pawns could hold their own in battle.  Although the commands you can give are limited to help, go & come, I never had to give a command because they were on top of things.  It didn’t feel like babysitting.  Pawns will heal you, draw enemy attention & even hold enemies down for you to finish them off.  They also talk a lot during battle.  It can be annoying with all the text on the side of the screen, but the advice they give is useful.  I was also impressed with the enemy design.  Even though the demo only showed goblins, harpies, a chimera & griffon, they all looked like what you’d expect them too.  The chimera was especially well done.  The character creation is also mind-numbingly detailed.  You can create a wide variety of characters.  There are tons of customizable presets for hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, scars & body types.  Want to play as a behemoth with a beer belly & a dwarf sidekick?  Go for it.  Or would you rather be an amazon with a cranky old mage following you around?  Knock yourself out.

On the other hand, the default controls seem a bit awkward to me.  I think it’s because the button to draw your weapon is the left shoulder button while blocking is done by holding the left bumper.  Maybe it’s because I’ve been playing Skyrim, but it feels weird to me.  Of course these sorts of issues can be fixed by changing the layout.  Other problems, however, cannot be fixed so easily.  The health & stamina bars are in the lower left corner of the screen & seem unnecessarily small.  I’m also not crazy about how when you take damage a portion of it can only be healed by sleeping.  Combat can also feel a bit hectic with four characters running around.  When you’re hanging off the side of a griffon whose wings are flailing around while three other character with their names & health bars displayed above their heads are swarming it, it can be hard to keep track of your hero.

Short of this game bombing in the reviews when it’s released at the end of this month, I definitely plan to check it out.  The Pawn system alone warrants it a glance.

– GamerDame